2007–08 Calgary Flames season
The 2007–08 Calgary Flames season began October 4, 2007. It was the franchise's 35th season in the National Hockey League, 27th season as the Calgary Flames. In a surprise move, the Flames announced on June 14 that Jim Playfair would be replaced by "Iron" Mike Keenan as the team's head coach. Playfair remains with the Flames as an associate coach. Keenan entered the season 6th all-time in the NHL in wins. Keenan also captured the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's coach of the year in 1984–85 with the Philadelphia Flyers.Flames name Keenan new head coach, tsn.ca, June 14, 2007. On December 16, Keenan recorded his 600th career win as a head coach in a 5–3 victory over one of his former teams, the St. Louis Blues.Board, Mike, Keenan joins elite 600–win club, Calgary Flames Hockey Club, December 16, 2007. Al MacInnis was among four players inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 12, 2007. MacInnis spent 13 years in Calgary, and captured the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP when the Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989.Board, Mike, Interview with Hall-of-Fame inductee Al MacInnis, calgaryflames.com, June 29, 2007. On November 29, captain Jarome Iginla played in his 804th game, setting a new franchise record for games played in a Flames uniform, surpassing Al MacInnis' mark. Two nights later, Iginla registered his 700th career point in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. On March 10, Iginla scored his 365th goal, surpassing Theoren Fleury's mark of 364 to become the Flames' all-time goal scoring leader.Iginla passes Fleury in Flames' win, tsn.ca, March 11, 2008. In December, the Flames became the third team in NHL history to win all six games of a six-game road trip, a feat previously accomplished by the 1971–72 Bruins and 1982–83 Flyers.Keenan rediscovers passion for coaching, tsn.ca, December 19, 2007.McFarlane, Steve, Road warriors complete sweep, Calgary Sun, December 19, 2007. The 2001–02 Red Wings also won six consecutive road games, though that trip was broken in half by the 2002 Winter Olympics. Two Flames players were voted to start for the Western Conference at the 2008 All-Star Game. Defenceman Dion Phaneuf joined Iginla for the game, which was held in Atlanta, Georgia.Rosen, Dan, NHL tabs All-Star starters, nhl.com, January 8, 2008. On February 18, Flames' prospect Mickey Renaud, a fifth round pick in the 2007 draft, collapsed and died at the age of 19 at his home in Tecumseh, Ontario. Renaud had been playing for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League, and was the team's captain.Windsor Spitfires captain Renaud dies, tsn.ca, February 18, 2008. The cause of death was not immediately known. Regular season Divisional standings Conference standings Game log |- | colspan=10 | |- | colspan=10 | |- | colspan=10 | |- | colspan=10 | |- | colspan=10 | |- | colspan=10 | |} Playoffs The Flames finished 7th in the Western Conference with 94 points, earning a first round match-up against the Pacific Division champion San Jose Sharks. It is the third time the two teams have met in the playoffs, with the Sharks defeating the Flames in seven games in the first round of the 1995 playoffs, while the Flames defeated San Jose in six games in the 2004 Western Conference final. After splitting the first two games in San Jose, the Flames gave up three goals to the Sharks in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the game, but came back to win 4–3. In doing so, the Flames became only the second team in NHL history, after the 1985 Minnesota North Stars to come back from a 3–0 deficit in the first ten minutes of a playoff game.Game Story: San Jose 3, Calgary 4, espn.com, April 13, 2008. During Game 6, in which the Flames faced elimination, they scored once in the first and second period each to shutout the Sharks 2–0, as the Sharks did during Game 2. Nolan and Langkow scored both goals respectively and Kiprusoff made 21 saves for his 6th postseason shutout. |} Player stats Skaters Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Calgary. Stats reflect time with the Flames only. Goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average Awards and records Records *7: most games to start the season with a player scoring two goals in one game.Calgary Flames - News: Flames 'twos' are in the record book - 10/18/2007 *6: consecutive wins on a single road trip (tied for record). Milestones Transactions The Flames have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season. Trades Free agents | valign="top" | |} Draft picks The Flames made five selections at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio. Calgary selected Swedish forward Mikael Backlund with their first selection, 24th overall. Heading into the draft, Backlund was the second highest ranked European prospect, and 10th overall, by International Scouting Services. Backlund joined third round selection John Negrin in making their NHL debuts with the Flames in the 2008–09 season. The Flames tragically lost their fifth round draft pick, Mickey Renaud, when the 19-year-old captain of the Windsor Spitfires collapsed and died in his home late in the 2007–08 OHL season. The Ontario Hockey League created a new trophy in his honour, the Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy in 2009. *Statistics are updated to the end of the 2008–09 NHL season. Players in italics were active on an NHL roster in 2008–09. Farm teams Quad City Flames After two seasons in Omaha, Nebraska, and over $4 million in operating losses, the Calgary Flames chose to relocate their American Hockey League affiliate to the Quad Cities.AHL: Knights are leaving for the Quad Cities, Omaha World-Herald, May 15, 2007. The new team, known as the Quad City Flames, will play in the West Division of the Western Conference. Las Vegas Wranglers Led by team scoring leader Chris Ferraro, the Las Vegas Wranglers reached the ECHL's Kelly Cup Finals in 2007–08 where they fell to the Cincinnati Cyclones four games to two. Head Coach Glen Gulutzan expressed the team's disappointment in losing the championship. "It's an empty feeling, and I certainly don't like to talk about it, but the only way around it for me now is to try to move forward and start looking at next year," said Gulutzan. The playoff disappointment represented a bitter end to a successful season, as the Wranglers finished first in the Pacific Division for the second consecutive season. Their 47–13–5–7 record was the best in the National Conference, and their 106 points was good enough to finish third overall in the ECHL. See also *2007–08 NHL season References *'Player stats:' Calgary Flames player stats on espn.com *'Game log:' Calgary Flames game log on espn.com *'Team standings:' NHL standings on espn.com Category:Calgary Flames seasons Category:2007 in hockey Category:2008 in hockey